young fellows, "but if you have nothing to do to-morrow, and care
for a new experience, I will take you out to snipe the enemy. It's a
slow game, but has its excitements. We shall have to crawl out in the
dark about three o'clock, take up our quarters outside, and wait there
till the following night. Perhaps we shall not get a shot all day. But
on the other hand we may bag a few of the Boers who show themselves.
Will you come?"

Jack willingly assented, and next morning, when it was still dark,
followed the young volunteer outside the defences. Each carried a rifle
and plenty of ammunition, field-glasses, water and food sufficient to
last the day.

"Now the thing is to get hold of a spot where there is some shade to be
had," said the young volunteer, whose name was Francis. "I know a
splendid place, where we shall be able to get out of the rays of the
sun. We can lie there together and chat. It is much better than being
by one's self."

Picking their way carefully amongst the boulders, Jack and Francis soon
reached a mass of rock which had been specially prepared for sniping.
It was really a gigantic boulder, which had at some time split, the two
portions rolling a few feet apart. In the gap between, a little wall of
boulders and sand-bags had been made. Francis stretched a blanket from
one piece of the rock to the other, and kept it in position by means of
stones.

"That's all right," he said, with satisfaction. "However hot the sun is
we shall be sheltered from it. Now we'll get our rifles ready, and have
a snooze till the dawn breaks."

Placing their weapons against the wall in front, they rolled themselves
in their blankets and soon dozed off. An hour later the sun was up, and
both prepared for action.

"You've been under fire before, at Glencoe, Somerton," said Francis,
"but I fancy you will find this rather different. The Boers hate us
fellows who come out here to take potshots at them worse than all the
rest. It makes it impossible for them to show themselves for long.
Every shot we fire will be answered by a dozen rifles or more, and
sometimes they will let off a shell at us. It gets pretty warm work at
times. But I dare say you'll get used to it."

"I fancy I have had a share of it already," replied Jack coolly. "You
see, before I got out of Glencoe I had some experience of it, and just
outside Kimberley a force of Boers bombarded the house in which some
friends and I had sheltered,